Woolworths may not be but Coles is still selling Australia Day merchandise – if you can find it, that is

Woolworths surprised the nation last week when it confirmed it would no longer sell Australia Day merchandise ahead of the holiday, while Coles will continue to sell such products – but some shoppers have expressed dismay at the size of the displays.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was quick to err in demanding that shoppers boycott the supermarket giant from its decision, which Woolworths said was made due to a ‘gradual decline’ in sales.

While Woolworths is the latest retailer to avoid Australia Day, QUT professor Gary Mortimer says it won’t be the last.

“Over the past decade, Australians have come to understand that January 26 evokes different emotions across many different communities,” says the consumer behavior and psychology expert.

“As a population matures, values ​​change, and it’s important for all businesses, not just retailers, to respond to those changes.”

Coles confirmed it would continue to stock a range of Australian-themed merchandise in the lead up to the day.

However, it appears that several stores are only selling a small portion of the inventory.

Customers have noticed that many of the ‘Australian themed summer items’ are on small displays at the back of the stores.

Some shoppers have even claimed they struggle to find Australian-themed products.

‘My local Coles. Australia Day merchandise stand. 3 days. 3 photos. Nobody buys it. And it’s such a small position,” one person wrote on social media.

“Coles had the end of an aisle with Australia Day stuff and it looked very sad and sales weren’t moving at all,” wrote another.

‘I was in Coles Pakenham today and also noticed that there were no Australia Day products on display. Is no one celebrating Australia Day this year? Will it really all be canceled in the end? I don’t want to debate, I’m just curious. Still pretty sad,” wrote another.

Another customer shopping for Australia Day merchandise was stunned to find the Lunar New Year display was much more prominent.

“I went to Coles to check out the Australia Day merchandise. And yes, they had some… shoved in the back of the grocery store, I might add.

‘But at least it was there.

‘I walked around the corner and this! Lunar New Year – three times as much real estate, a place of honor.

‘I obviously have no problem with Lunar New Year, I think it’s fantastic. It should be celebrated.

“But this display was a cracker compared to the Australia Day display.

“I couldn’t believe the difference.”

When contacted by NCA NewsWire about the Australia Day stock, a Coles spokesperson said: ‘We are stocking a small range of Australian-themed summer items throughout January, which are popular with our customers for sporting events such as cricket and tennis. as for summer entertainment.”

Professor Mortimer said he suspected it would not be long before Coles and others eventually followed Woolworths.

“Kmart didn’t advertise Australia Day products last year. This year, Woolworths, Big W and Aldi have followed suit. Sometimes it takes a while to gather the momentum to respond to changing values,” Prof. Mortimer said.

The debate over Australia Day and its celebration on January 26, the day in 1788 when the British flag was first raised in Sydney Cove following the arrival of the First Fleet, has grown in recent decades.

Many First Australians regard and refer to the date as ‘Invasion Day’ and as a day of mourning.

But developments in recent years have brought this view into the mainstream.

In 2017, Triple J announced it would no longer hold the Hottest 100 on January 26.

Federal workers are no longer forced to take Australia Day off, and other major companies have since followed suit, opting to let employees take the leave at a different time.

Meanwhile, the number of local councils choosing not to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day has grown.

“While there was an initial backlash, I feel that more and more Australians are choosing to forego celebrating on the 26th,” Prof Mortimer said.

Research conducted by YouGov in the week after Mr Dutton’s boycott demand found that half of Australians would like to change the way our national day is celebrated.

About 30 percent of voters said they were open to the idea of ​​a two-day holiday celebrating the old and the new, while one in five said the date should change.

Only 49 percent of respondents said they wanted Australia Day to remain as it is.

Government director at YouGov, Paul Smith, said the survey showed overall that Australians were taking a relatively “relaxed” approach to our national holiday.

“More Australians, 41 per cent, cite ‘being able to enjoy the day off the way they want’ as the most important thing about Australia Day,” he said.

“This is compared to 31 percent who say ‘celebrating at specific events on Australia Day’ is the most crucial part of the day.”

When Dutton first made his plea to shoppers to avoid Woolworths, he mentioned CEO Brad Banducci, who was also a supporter of the Voice to Parliament.

The opposition leader attacked the supermarket boss for dabbling in social issues and endorsing Anthony Albanese’s ‘woke agenda’.

Since then, a number of Woolworths stores have been targeted by vandals.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the comments showed a lack of leadership and criticized him for failing to apologize to workers and residents affected by the attacks.

“If he were a leader… he would apologize to the workers and residents he endangered through his foolish and dangerous words,” the Labor frontbencher said.

“(Mr) Dutton is focused on a culture war, we are focused on the war on inflation.”

On Friday, Mr Dutton said he would not personally pick up Australian-themed thongs from Coles, but claimed Woolworths should still sell the products.

Managing director of Wesfarmers’ Kmart Group Ian Bailey told news.com.au the number of shoppers looking for themed bunting, clothing and other merchandise was “less than it used to be”.

“There’s not enough demand on that one day to justify returning products,” he said.

Professor Mortimer said the decision was ‘simply an example of retailers responding to changing community attitudes’ rather than ‘woke’.

Australia’s retail sector is worth $420 billion and employs more than 1.4 million Australians.

“It is that size and scope that allows the sector to bring about change,” said the consumer behavior expert.